By Susan Smith Nash, Ph.D.
Web-based software can be a huge productivity-enhancer for people needing to share documents, collaborate, and access documents. They can also save individuals time and money by not having to constantly purchase software and worry about compatibility with other users. Simply stated, web-based applications are simply installed on a server - usually the developer's own server - and are accessible from any computer at any time.
Years ago, Bill Gates announced that in the future, no one would need to have application software on their personal computers. Instead, everything would be on the web, and you'd simply log in and use the application located there.
So, why are we still buying software and installing it on our individual computers? The answer is that while web-based software is improving, there are still a few disadvantages, the first being that you must have a good connection to the Internet, and you must be online in order to work with the software. The other problem is browser compatibility. Some web-based software works only with Firefox, or Internet Explorer, and it may work better with Windows than Mac.
Nevertheless, the brave new world of web-based software is starting to take hold, and you may already know people who swear by word-processing and spreadsheet applications such as Google.docs or photo editing such as Phixr.com.
Word Processing:
gOffice: http://goffice.com
gOffice.com products are not free, but the software is fully compatible with Microsoft Office. The price very affordable, less than half of even student-discounted versions of Office. There are definitely advantages with gOffice, since all updates and upgrades occur automatically. The disadvantage (as is the case with all browser-based apps) is that you have to be online in order to use the software. If you’re not online, you will need to use the basic word processor that comes with your operating system.
AjaxWrite: http://ajax13.com
AjaxWrite has an interface that resembles Microsoft Office, which makes the learning curve less steep than in some programs. It is a basic word processing program, which does not have all the functionality of the later versions of Microsoft Word or WordPerfect. Nevertheless, the collaborative capabilities are very impressive. Using the program is free, but to obtain storage and full functionality, it is necessary to pay a monthly fee. Ajax software products use Firefox 1.5 or higher, and do not work with Internet Explorer. In this way, users may avoid some of the problems with viruses associated with IE. However, because not everyone wants to use Firefox, it may restrict collaboration. For full compatibility, it is best to save documents in an rtf format.
Google Docs: http://docs.google.com
Google Docs is a word processing program that is ideal for collaboration since it works with most browsers. However, some of the controls do not always work (formatting, etc.) in the same with all browsers. The functionality is fairly limited, as in the case with most programs. Documents can be saved to your own computer as online. Collaboration can be a bit tricky because there is no “track changes” or “colloboration tool” so that one can’t easily see what changes have been made by the collaborator. Google docs is very easy to use, though, and very little time is required. Google docs gives you the option to publish the documents to the web, either with their own web address, or in Blogger.
Zoho Writer: http://writer.zoho.com
Zoho Writer has an impressive array of options, and is very functional. In addition to basic formatting, Zoho Writer also allows one to create layers and basic html formatting. Thus, Zoho Writer is also a convenient web editor, with WYSIWYG capabilities.
Spreadsheets:
Google Docs: http://docs.google.com
Spreadsheets and word processing utilize the same log-in. It’s a basic spreadsheet program, but easy to use. Collaboration is very easy to do, but, again, it’s not possible to track the changes very easily.
Zoho Sheet: http://sheet.zoho.com
As with the case of Zoho Writer, Zoho Sheet is powerful and easy to use.
Ajax Spreadsheet: http://www.ajaxXLS.com
Easy to use, and very functional. Requires Firefox 1.5 or higher as your browser.
Database and Project Management Software:
Zoho Projects: http://projects.zoho.com/
Zoho’s software allows you to manage projects. Because Zoho projects encourage collaboration, this is really ideal for managing projects where teams are in different locations.
Zoho Creator: http://creator.zoho.com/
Online applications can be very difficult to create. Zoho’s library of templates include the following: mini help desk, project management, CRM (customer relationship management), recruitment, to-do lists, expense tracker, issue prioritizer.
Presentation:
AjaxPresents: http://www.ajax13.com
Basic and easy to use.
Zoho Show: http://show.zoho.com
What sets Zoho apart is the fact that all the presentations are web-based, and it automatically creates the html code. One can edit with FrontPage, so that if one has a website with FrontPage extensions, it’s very easy to upload to one’s website. There are templates and one can also save to txt files to make handouts or notes.
[Listen to the companion podcast at:
http://community.elearners.com/blogs/inside_elearning/attachment/2678.ashx - 2.60 MB]